Aftermath

~16 July 2006~

I sigh and massage my shoulder as I finish signing the last bit of paperwork that needs to be done. Even though I'm only a leader of a small village, the paperwork that comes from it is rather big. For example, I need to take care of the village food supply and trade between my village and the other magic village. Oh yeah, my village is considered a magic village because of the residents.

There is also the aftermath of yesterday's fight. They need to clean the area near the village from the filth that undead leave behind after they kill them. The miasma left behind by the undead interferes with the plant life near the village, and if we are left behind long enough, it will disturb the ecosystem in the area. Luckily, with the help of Medea and a few druids we have, the miasma is quickly taken care of before it becomes more than an annoyance.

There is also Carol, aka Captain Marvel. She is a free woman that does whatever she wants. Lucky for me, she obeyed every order I gave her. The reason is that she is the holder of Cloud Flame, making her a person that will not be caged by anyone, even their sky.

*Knock Knock*

I snap from my thoughts and say.

"Come in."

Coming from the door is Medea and Carol.

"What can I do for you, Medea Carol?"

The first one to answer my question is Medea.

"I come here to inform you that the miasma has been taken care of, the druid has purified all of the miasmas around."

"Good."

"I also want to ask for permission to expand our bounded field around the castle."

"Oh? Do tell"

"While working on the miasma, a young druid gave a proposal to expand the bounded field by combining my magic and their magic. With their ability, they can grow magic that is suitable for creating a protective barrier. Also, with the help of the Sun Flame, we can accelerate the growth of the tree so we can create the barrier right away."

"Hmmm, Will it disturb the already existing bounded field?"

"No. It will not"

"Then go for it. Just make sure to report back to me for the result."

"Yes. You will not disappointed master."

"I know."

I look at Carol, who smiles a little at me.

"And Carol? What can I do for you?"

"I want to report back about my patrol."

Oh yeah, Carol decided she will be patrolling around the area this morning. She somehow developed a territorial nature and marked that my castle as her territory that needed to be protected at all costs. I don't really understand the nature of Cloud Flame, but so far, Cloud Flame makes its user like an animal marking their territory. I know that Cloud user is territorial, but I don't think it was to this extent.

"Do tell."

"While patrolling, I encounter a pack of Harpy walking toward our castle."

"Oh?"

Harpy? Now that is interesting. The only time I hear harpy is when one of the characters in DxD decides to use them in a tennis match.

"Yes. As I spot the pack of Harpy, I immediately approach them and ask about their intention."

"So?"

"They say that they want to live in our territory because of how the Vampire from Tepes clan began harassing them in their previous territory."

"I see, how long do you think they will arrive in here?"

"In a few hours."

"Good. Then, Carol, I need you to guide them toward our territory as I don't want them to be found by the undesired (Vampire) in their way."

"No, need my lord. I already created a clone to guide them here."

"I see, good job."

I ignore the smug smile Carol gave Medea and think about the current situation. While my territory just gains other people to settle, which is good in its own way, on the other hand, I fear that my current people will decide to shun the harpy because of their races. However, when I feel my hyper intuition says that it will be okay, I decide to let it go and wait for the future.

"Carol, how is your training in the flame technique?"

Carol and Medea snap from their glaring contest and look at me.

"I have some difficulty with controlling the mist flame. On the other hand, my cloud works spectacularly with my cosmic energy. Now I can fire multiple cosmic energy balls without using much of my energy as the cloud flame multiplies the energy on its own. For the mist, I can only create a solid copy of myself with a little bit of cosmic energy transferred to the clone."

"I see."

Carol is what I called a Cloudy Mist, meaning that she has a Cloud as her primary Flame with a Mist Flame to the side. If the Storm and Rain combination is used for a quick killing technique, Cloud and Mist are used to hurt the enemy physically and mentally. With Cloud used as a method to attack the enemy physically, Mist is used to attack them mentally. That is a terrifying combination to have, especially to fight against an army.

Carol can use her Mist to create her clone and then increase the durability of her clone using the Cloud flame. She also can rain a hail of bullets made of cosmos energy toward her enemy while her mist creates a solid illusion to distract her enemy.

"How about you, Medea?"

"My training goes smoothly, Master. I can combine both my Storm and Mist to enchant my magic even further. Not only that, but I also successfully recreate the transportation spell that the magician uses. So we don't need to use the plane anymore if you want to go to another country. Sadly, I only can transport us to places I have already visited."

"I see. It's okay."

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm proud of you, Medea. Don't look so down."

As I say that, Medea's eyes lit up, and I could see her mood became brighter than before.

"Now, into the next topic. Is there any good news regarding our friendly neighbor, Vampire?"

While I know that my castle can handle any attack from the Vampire faction, I don't know if It can handle the attack from the enchanted Vampire from the grail power. That is why I ordered Medea to send her familiar to search for Valerie Tepes and see her condition. I know that Valerie already lost her first Grail to the creepy Rizevim, but I don't know if he already took the second Grail with him.

"Last night, after the fight, my familiar found an empty castle in the middle of the forest. The exact location is a few kilometers to the north-east of Brasov. I also found a group of vampires fighting a vampire hunter not too far away from the castle. I think it was the vampire base near Brasov, and when they spot the vampire hunter, they decide to engage them far away from their base."

"I see. Medea, I want you to investigate that castle without them knowing about it. If they know about your presence, I want you to kill them all. Don't leave any witnesses. Also, bring Carol with you."

"Yes"

"Good, now how about our prisoner? Do you get any useful information?"

"Yes, Our prisoner says that Tepes clan get help from the outside force to enchant their soldiers so they can push the Carmila clan little by little. However, only a high-rank noble that can get that treatment. He also says that their king sent a large number of soldiers to the west end of Romania to protect a castle from anyone."

That must be Valerie.

"Change of plan. I still want to kill the people in that abandoned castle near our location and search what is inside that castle, but I want you to investigate our newest information. I have a feeling that this new information will lead us to the source of Tepes's clan new power boost."

"Yes, Master"

"Good. If there is no more thing to say, you can go. I need to prepare to receive the people that are coming to our castle."

"Yes"

When Medea and Carol walk away from my office, I get up and begin to change my clothing into my formal one.

I have some people to meet.